Decisions , Decisions
I hate him sometimes.
I really do.
Always wants me when I'm doing something important.
Brothers!
Can't live with 'em , can't live without 'em.
I knock on the door of mom and T.k's place, a long bus ride. This better be good. Mom answers, I can't really face her right now.
"Matt, it's great to see you"! She hugs me. I break away. She frowns but then calls for T.K.
He charges through the hallway and wraps his arms around my leg.
"Big brother"! He says affectionately.
"Get off me squirt" I reply, joking of course. He gently drags me to his room. He clears enough cuddly toys off his bed for me to sit down.
"So why'd you need to see me, I was just in the middle of…………"
"Have you got Izzy's mail yet"?
"Is that it?, couldn't you have said it over the phone"?
"Well have you"?
"No, I never really check the computer dad's always…………."
"You have to1, it's important"!
"Can't you just tell me now"?
"Well Ok. It says we might have to go back to the digital world"!
"What"?
"There's a new enemy!, she's called Ladysatanmon, Gennai sent Izzy an e- mail saying that we go go back if we wanted"
"If we wanted"?
"Yeah, the e-mail said that we've done so much for the Digimon already, we can't be expected to go back everytime something else turns up. It's a choice".
"There' s no choice T.k"
"Huh"?
"Well, think about it. Don't you feel like you have to"?
"I suppose so".
"That's your answer then" Matt replied darkly. The phone rang. Matt answered.
"Hi, oh Tai…..it's you"
"Don't sound so pleased" Tai replied quite coldly for him.
"Don't worry I won't"
"Listen, since you're in one of your moods can I speak to T.K"?
"I'm not in………" Matt started before T.K snatched the phone.
"Hey Tai, T.K here"
"Great. Have you had Izzy's e-mail"?
"Yeah"
"What are you going to do"?
"That's a silly question Tai, of course I'm going!, I wanna help out patamon"
"Great, well there's a meeting of the team at my place, come round In about an hour if you can. Tell Matt to as well".
"Ok, see ya then" T.K put the phone down. "There's a digidestined meeting at Tai's place in an hour".
"Have fun" Matt replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Aren't you coming"?
"I don't think so".
"Matt……………"
"Is that all you wanted to talk to me about?, good, I'm leaving now" Matt walked out of the apartment without saying goodbye.
The meeting began, as planned. Matt was the only one not sat around Tai's dining table.
"So, we're all here apart from Matt. That's how much Gabumon means to him" Tai said sourly.
"Tai, you know that Gabumon means a lot to Matt" Sora replied
"Then why isn't Matt here then"?
"I don't know"
"Exactly".
Izzy typed away at his laptop.
"Gennai says that since we left the digital world after the final battle, he's been working on a way for us to get back into the digital world whenever we want. He says he thinks he's finally developed a way. It's called a digiport. It can be opened using a computer and a digivice. He's not sure if it works though". He said not looking up.
"So you're saying even if we want to, we might not be able to go and help"? Joe asked.
"That's about it". Izzy replied quietly.
"It has to work!, it just has to"! Tai shouted.
"Well, if we're all ready, then we can try it now"
"What about Matt"? T.k asked.
"He obviously doesn't want to come, we can't wait forever, we've got a world to save"! Tai reached for his goggles.
Izzy set up the computer, each digidestined held out their digivice and yelled.
"Digiport open"!
In an amazing flash of light, the room emptied.
Matt walked through the door of the apartment he shared with his dad. He kicked off his trainers and pulled off his sweater.
"Matt is that you"? Mr Ishida yelled from the kitchen.
"No, it's a burgler, I've come to rob the family silver" Matt replied sarcastically.
"I thought you'd be with the others"
"How'd you know about that"?
"T.K came round and told me that he was going back to that digiworld thingy. I thought since he was going, you'd go too. I know how you are about looking after him".
"Yeah, well, you thought wrong didn't you" Matt slammed a mug down on the side. He switched the kettle on.
"Coffee's already in the pot" Mr Ishida said quietly.
"Whatever".
"So why didn't you go"?
"Because"
"Great reason son, totally does you justice" Mr Ishida replied. It was obvious where Matt got his sarcasm from.
"I just didn't want to"
"But why"?
"I just didn't want to Ok"? Matt stormed out of the room.
"Alright it worked"! Tai yelled. They found themselves in Gennai's lounge.
"Long time no see" Gennai said happily.
"Gennai hi"! Sora greeted.
"Glad you could come. Sorry about this, but let's get down to business. Ladysatanmon, is the worst enemy this world has ever seen. The dark masters were cupcakes compared to her. However, I have faith that you will win again. The digimon are in the garden". Gennai led the way to the garden.
"Tai"! Augumon shouted
"Sora" Biyomon cried
"Mimi"! Palmon yelled.
"T.K" Patamon ran to his arms.
"Kari"! Gatomon ran to her partner.
"Joe" Gomamon bounded towards him.
"And Izzy"! Tentomon rushed to his friend.
"SO great to see you again" The digimon said in unison.
"Where's Matt"? Gabumon asked worriedly.
"Sorry Gabumon, he didn't come" T.k said softly.
"But why"? Everyone turned to see the look of distress on Gabumon's face.
"We don't know, he wouldn't say" T.k replied.
"Typical Matt" Gabumon tried to hide his disappointment.
Matt lay on his bed. He thought about what T.k would be doing now. He'd be there, saving the Digiworld with his friends.
"Why didn't I go"? He asked himself. "Because I was scared. Scared that Gabumon wouldn't want me anymore. Scared that something would happen to T.K, not to mention the way I have been with Tai, we'd kill each other before Ladysatanmon".
Matt sat up and looked over to his bedside table. He picked up a photo of T.K.
"What did I do wrong?, you don't need me anymore. You're fine on your own. You don't need me".
He was shocked to see a tear drip on the glass. He wiped his eyes furiously. I don't cry, he said to himself. He put the picture back on the table. He was shocked by a knock on his door.
"Come in"
Mr Ishida came in.
"HI dad"
"Matt, I know I'm not the greatest father in the world. I know I've not always been there when you needed me. But I want to be, something is wrong. I can tell that much. You have to feel like you can tell me Matt, it doesn't make you a coward, telling me would be the bravest thing you could do. Give me a chance Matt, I'll be a better father".
"I can't dad, don't you see?, this is something I have to work out for myself".
"You don't have to be alone Matt, I know I've made you feel like you've been alone all this time. Ever since your mother and I…….divorced……I've been too wrapped up in myself to realise, what it was doing to you. You and T.K had been so close, and then……well……you mother and I ruined that. I'm sorry Matt, I should have seen what I was doing to you".
"It's got nothing to do with the divorce. When I was in the Digital world, I felt I didn't have a purpose, that no-one really needed me. I overcame it, but I feel it coming back, and the only person that helped me was………"
"Gabumon"
"Yeah".
"I don't know much about what happened that summer, but I do know this. You came back and you'd changed, for the better, you were so grown up, I hardly recognised you. Gabumon had done something in a day that I've been trying to do for eleven years, understand you".
"Dad…….."
"You want to go back don't you"?
"Well………yes….but "
"You're too afraid they won't want you back"
"Yes I guess………"
"They will Matt, you're a part of the team, you have the crest of Friendship, that's an important part of life, without friendship, there'd be loneliness. If that's what you want Matt, go back. If you want the honest to God truth, I think you should, I believe in you Matt, I know you have the strength to beat whatever it is. I'll be with you son, in your heart. Never forget that".
This time Matt let the tears course down his cheeks. Mr Ishida seemed a little shocked, but he took his son, and for the first time that Matt could remember, Mr Ishida held his son.
"Come on guys , what's with you all"? Tai asked, they had been walking for three miles, and were resting by some trees.
"I want Matt" T.K relayed the feelings of the group.
"He didn't want to come T.k". Sora said softly.
"Did you see the look on Gabumon's face when he saw Matt wasn't there?, I could barely take it". Augumon spoke up.
"I know, it was awful, I can't believe Matt would do something like that". Tai replied.
"It's almost like he turned against Gabumon" Joe put in his opinion.
"I thought Gabumon meant a lot to Matt, maybe we misjudged who Matt is" Mimi put in.
"I can't believe you're all doing this"! T.K stood up. "You're all turning against my brother!, you think you know him, but none of you do, not like I know him"! T.k picked up patamon and walked off. "I don't need any of you" He shouted back at the group.
"Nice one guys" Sora said breaking the silence.
"What we said was true, every bit of it"! Tai replied harshly.
"Why are we all fighting amongst ourselves?, we should be concentrating on defeating the real enemy" Izzy spoke up.
Matt ran all the way up the stairs of the apartment block. He hammered furiously on the door of Tai's apartment. Mrs Kamiya opened the door.
"Matt hi!, I thought you were with the others"
"Have they gone"? Matt panted.
"I'm afraid so, Tai said something about going back to the Digital world".
"I'mn too late then"?
"I'm sorry Matt, but Izzy has left his laptop. Why don't you take it with you. You can give it back to him then when they come back".
"Ok, thanks Mrs Kamiya" Matt replied as Mrs Kamiya handed him the laptop. Matt tucked it under his arm and headed off home.
He walked the streets not knowing what to do, he didn't even know how the others had gotten back into the digital world, so he couldn't follow them.
As he got to his apartment , an idea struck him. He rushed into the apartment and put Izzy's laptop down on the table.
"Matt, I thought you were going"? Mr Ishida asked.
"I am, if what I'm about to try works". Matt opened up the laptop and turned it back on. He waited for it to load. He clicked on Izzy's e-mails.
"Dammit!, pass-word protected!, wait a sec…….hmmm, prodigious, alright I'm in"! There was an e-mail from Gennai. Matt read it ,before leaping from the chair with excitement.
"I know how they got there Dad"! He shouted.
"How"?
"It says something called a digiport, all I have to do is follow the steps on the e-mail and then I can go to the digital world".
"Go for it son, remember what I told you"
"I will, see ya soon dad".
Matt set up the digiport following Gennai's steps. He pulled his digivice out of his pocket.
"Digiport open"! He yelled.
Mr Ishida shielded his eyes as a bright flash of light, transported his son out of the apartment.
"Good luck Matt" He whispered to himself.
"We have to find T.K before we fight Ladysatanmon" Sora insisted.
"I don't understand why any of you didn't go after him" Izzy spoke up, he felt alone without his laptop.
"I didn't see you chasing after him"! Tai shouted.
"This is giving me a migrane" Joe complained.
"For once in your life quiet complaining Joe" Tai yelled.
"He was only saying something, I didn't know that was such a crime" Mimi stuck up for Joe.
"So that's it Joe, you need a girl to stick up for you"! Tai laughed.
"You're all forgetting about T.K" Kari cried.
"Kari stay out of this" Tai shouted. Kari started crying.
"WILL EVERYBODY SHUT UP"! Biyomon shouted above the arguing.
"Yeah you're all forgetting the reason you came here" Augumon agreed.
"Stop fighting with each other and remember why you came" Palmon continued.
"Let's all calm down and get out priorities straight. Number one, we stop fighting, I'm open to suggestion now" Gomamon said
"Number two , we find T.K" Gatomon finshed for him.
"And number three , we beat that Ladysatanmon into the ground"! Augumon shouted.
T.K walked round the forest , not sure where he was going. Patamon followed, staying ever true to his partner.
"I want my brother patamon" T.K fell to his knees.
"I know you do T.K, I think we all do, without the crest of friendship, they're all fighting".
"Do you think that's why they're fighting?, I thought they were all just mad at Matt".
"I'm not sure, I don't think they're all mad at Matt though".
"You were there, you heard the things they were saying about him".
"They didn't mean any of those things"
"They did Patamon, I could see it in their faces. They all hate Matt"! T.K pounded the ground with his small fists. The tears followed. Patamon could do nothing but watch T.K, he had no comforting words for his friend, mainly because he thought that Matt was being a bit of a jerk, upsetting Gabumon like he did.
Gennai answered the door. He had tried to ignore the frantic knocking but it had just got louder and louder.
There stood in the doorway was the bearer of friendship, Matt Ishida.
"Matt?, how'd you get here"?
"Through the Digiport, it's a long story, I need to find the others, do you know where they might be"?
"There's someone you need to think about before finding the others" Gennai said coldly.
"Gabumon"
"That's if he'll talk to you"
Matt felt his stomach twist in a knot, he hadn't thought about how Gabumon might have reacted when the others came but he didn't.
"He's sat out in the garden" Gennai continued breaking Matt's train of thought.
"Thanks" Matt pushed open the patio doors and walked out into the garden. He saw Gabumon's figure at the end of the garden. He walked slowly over to him.
"Gabumon" He said gently. The digimon did not turn around.
"Finally decided I'm good enough for you to waste your time on"? Gabumon said sharply.
"I'm sorry about that, I had to get my head straight. I had some issues".
"You akways have issues Matt, what else is new"?
"Well I've said sorry to you and that's all I can say. I understand that you don't want anything to do with me".
"You got that right"
Matt was taken aback by this reply. He nodded slowly.
"Goodbye Gabumon" He said sadly. He turned back towards Gennai's house. He realised just how much he had upset his friend. Searching for the others on his own wouldn't be an easy task. But he had to support his brother. Without saying anything to Gennai, Matt set off on his search.
Out in the garden , tears fell down Gabumon's face.
T.K sat in a heap in the same spot he'd been now for an hour. He didn't want to get up, to move, to go back to the others. He couldn't, not after what they had all said about Matt. Patamon hadn't said much either, he didn't want to tell T.K what he thought about his brother. He just sat beside his partner, humming to himself.
"Hey squirt what are you doing all alone" A familier voice called out. T.K stood up and turned around, there stood a metre away from him , was Matt.
"Matt!, you came, you really came"! He shouted leaping into his brother's arms.
"Looks like it"
"Where's Gabumon"?
Matt's arms stiffened. T.K knew he has asked the wrong question. Matt put T,K down.
"So…erm…..why are you on your own"? Matt asked, his voice faultering a little.
"I just wanted some time alone" T.K replied quickly, not wanting Matt to know the real reason.
"I bet the others are really mad at me"
"No, they're not" T.K lied.
"Do you know where to find them"?
"They're walking through this forest".
"We should go and join them then. I have a feeling this is gonna be a battle that we all need to fight in".
T.K nodded and took his brother's hand. Patamon followed behind.
It didn't take them long to find the others, T.K hadn't be away long enough for them to get any great distance. Matt walked slowly behind them, as if he were stalking them. T.K tried to speak but Matt covered his mouth. He wanted to know what they really thought of him before he rejoined them.
"They're both the same" Tai was saying.
"T.K's nothing like Matt, apart from the simlilar looks they have totally different personalities" Matt heard Izzy reply.
"I still can't believe Matt would do that to Gabumon though" Even Sora seemed against him.
"I thought he'd changed" Mimi said sadly.
"Me too" Joe agreed.
"We all did, we all thought he'd changed for the better, you know become more grown up. It turns out he's just the same jerk he always was". Tai finished.
"Nice to know you have friends" A voice spoke up, the group turned round. Matt stood in front of them, he was clutching a crying T.K's hand tightly. The group immediately looked embarrassed.
"I had some issues, some uncertainties at first about coming back. Thanks to my dad I got through them. I realised that I was letting the team down, so I came. I came to help you, to be part of the team again. I pushed aside whatever I might have been feeling and set my priorities on beating this new enemy. Little did I know the enemy was the people I thought were my friends. So go ahead, look embarrassed, you were fine when you thought I wasn't here weren't you?, making your judgements about who I am. Which one of you can honestly put your hand up and say you know what I was feeling?. I'm sorry to have bothered you all, needless to say you won't hear from me again, ever". Matt let go of T.K' hand. He turned to walk away.
"Matt no, I want to come with you" T.K tried to get his brother's hand again.
"Stay T.K, you're wanted here, you have friends, they need you, and anyway , you still have Patamon". Matt held back his tears.
"But Matt………"
"If you only ever listen to me this one time squirt, please , stay with the others. They need you as part of the team".
"I need you as my brother"
"I still will be, I just won't be around, if it'll make you feel better , here". Matt placed his tag and crest around T.K's neck. "Go ahead little guy, you believe in this more than I do right now".
Matt smiled weakly, before starting to walk way from the group.
"Aren't you gonna stop him"? Sora asked.
"What can I say?, he heard what we said about him, I think he won't accept any apoligy we give him".
"He's right, we are like enemies to him, we all said things about him, that deep down , we knew weren't true". Izzy admitted.
"And now, he's gone for good, we did that to him". Mimi continued.
"We're all guilty of making him feel bad". Joe agreed.
Tai looked at the floor, he felt the most guilty, he had started all the talk about Matt.
Matt sat by the lake where the team had first defeated Metalseadramon. It looked so crystal clear, so pure and perfect. He couldn't believe how his friends had turned against him so viciously. He knew he had made a mistake not agreeing to go straight away, but hadn't he paid for that already with Gabumon's reception?. Not that he'd be much use without a Digimon by his side.
He rested his arms on his knees and his head in his arms. He seemed to be in the same place as he had been when he had left the group the first time round. This time though, he was truly alone. No-one sat beside him telling him it was alright. No-one comforted him when the tears started to fall.
The Digital world seemed such a lonely place, desolate landscapes and empty lakes still not recovered from the wrath of the Dark masters.
It's even lonely when you have no friends. Matt had managed to burn all his bridges with his friends and his Digipartner.
Soft paws padded on the ground, silently making their way to the lone wolf by the lake. The paws didn't make themselves known to the boy until their owner spoke.
"I'm sorry Matt" The gentle, calming voice echoed across the lake.
The boy turned around, he was met by the sight of a long-lost friend.
"Gabumon…..I thought……."
"I thought too Matt, I know what I did to you at Gennai's wasn't fair".
"I'm sorry too, it must have hurt you so much when you saw I wasn't there".
"It did, but I thought that you must have had a good reason. After all your crest is friendship, and that's something you don't turn your back on".
"I have done though, I've left the group again".
"Why"?
"Because…….." Matt burst into tears again. Gabumon placed a reassuring paw on his friend. He didn't want to know why until Matt was ready to say so.
"I heard them…….they said things about me, behind my back, for all the pain it's caused they might as well have shot me".
"Don't say things like that Matt, I'mn sure they regret what ever they said".
"They sounded like they really hated me though, like I was the one who was the enemy. You wanna know something?, I don't even know who the enemy is anymore Gabumon. I mean, I thought it was my Dad, but I saw a new side of him today, then I thought it was them, but I'm starting to think, the one who's the real enemy, is me".
"Don't think that, it's not true, whatever you may think of them right noe, you're still a digidestined and you're still part of that team. I think you should go back and fight beside them. You might not think it Matt, but they need you. You're an important part of the team and without you, they can't win, just like the dark masters, in order for the digidestined to win, they need to be together, everyone of them, including you".
"How could I go back after what they and I said"?
"You'll be going back with me, someone you know to be your true friend, and you'll be going back to T.K, who needs you the most right now".
Matt nodded. All this sitting around was not going to win any battles. He had to push aside whatever hatred he had for the others right now and help the digital world return to normality.
"So what has this Ladysatanmon actually done then"? Matt asked.
"Gennai said that she'd upset the balance between the digital world and your world. She's made it possible for her evil digimon to pass through to your world".
"As far as I know, nothing like that has showed up in our world".
"There won't be yet, she's in her castle putting the finishing touches to the gateway that leads to your world. Sort of like the gateway Myotismon used remember"?
"How could I forget"
"That's why you have to stop her before she finshes the gate".
"Well then, we'd better get going"
"Matt, I can't help but notice, where's your crest"?
"I gave it to T.k, I thought I wouldn't need it anymore, so I gave to him".
"Get it back when we get there 'cos believe me, you're gonna need it"!
Tai leant against a tree trunk. The group sat in a clearing, thinking about Matt and what they had said about him. T.K clutched his brother's crest tightly, as if it brought him closer to Matt.
"What are we gonna do" Sora asked no-one in particular.
"I don't know anymore" Tai replied, putting his head back against the trunk and closing his eyes.
"I vote we find Matt and bring him back" T.K spoke up. Kari gripped his hand tightly.
"He could be anywhere now, it'd be like looking for a needle in a haystack. He might not even be in the Digital world anymore". Izzy still missed his computer.
"All because of us". Joe said sadly.
"We made him feel like he wasn't part of the team anymore" Mimi looked at the ground.
"If I'm thinking correctly, we need a complete team to defeat Ladysatanmon, just like with the Dark masters. So if Matt's not here, we don't really stand much of a chance" Izzy said quietly.
"That's just great then isn't it!, we've lost already"!
"Hey don't count your chickens before they've hatched". Matt said, he walked up to the group , Gabumon was close behind.
"MATT"! The others yelled.
"No autographs please" He smiled, an old part of him shining through.
"You've come back and after all what we'd said to you"! Tai felt tears in his eyes.
"I'm still mad but for the purpose of saving the digiworld I'm willing to put all that on hold right now".
"I'm so glad you're back big brother" T.K hugged Matt hard. He handed back his crest. "There you go, you're gonna need it back".
"Where do we go from here"? Joe asked.
"I'm not that sure, Gennai didn't exactly say much" Tai replied sheepishly.
"We know where Ladysatanmon's castle is, Gennai told us all about it to save time" Augumon spoke up.
"Great!, lead us there buddy"! Tai slapped Augumon playfully on the back.
"It feels like we've been walking for hours"! Mimi complained. In reality the group had only been walking for an hour or so. Matt had hung back as usual. He still didn't feel like part of the group, but he knew they had to be together to defeat Ladysatanmon.
"Why do you always walk behind"? A voice cut through his thoughts. It was Biyomon. Matt thought it strange that she was talking to him, she never usually did.
"I have my reasons" Matt replied coldly.
"Like what" Biyomon questioned.
"Like, I think you should let it drop".
"Maybe you should talk to Gabumon, he understands you more than any of us do".
"Sorry I snapped at you, it's not your fault they've turned against me".
"I haven't even if they have, I think that you had a valid reason not to come here straight away. I understand that much, they can't see that yet, they don't hate you, you just have to be patient until they realise".
"Maybe, but they said some pretty nasty things, stuff like that doesn't come from empty feelings".
"No it comes from the heat of the moment. They all regret what they said, and they know that they really upset you, and that upsets them. I think if you open up more, they'll understand you and you can all talk things through. Personally, I think that should happen before the battle. You can't walk into a battle with negative feelings in the group. It just wouldn't work out".
"You're right Biyomon, I think we should have a group meeting". Matt was about to continue before a scream cut through the forest.
"What was that"? He asked Biyomon, she just shrugged.
"OH MY GOD"! Matt heard Tai shout.
"What's happened"? Matt rushed to the front. He saw his brother on the ground, in a pool of blood.
"I knew I shouldn't have let him do it……he wanted to see what was ahead……I should have been more responsible". Tai was muttering as he knelt by T.K.
Matt pushed Tai aside so hard that Tai fell into a nearby mud puddle.
"T.K can you hear me"? Matt shook his little brother slightly. "What happened to him"? He asked Joe.
"T.K wanted to go ahead , so Tai said he could just as long as he didn't go to far. The next thing I know , there's a scream so we all hurry around the bend and then we find T.K like this" Joe replied breathlessly. He took hold of T.K summoning his first aid knowledge.
Matt stood up and walked over to Tai who had since stood up.
"You let him go off alone" Matt said in a dangerously low tone.
"I…..I……I……" Tai stuttered.
"You let my eight year old brother go off into some unknown land, alone". Matt continued.
"But…..he…..I……."
"I should fucking kill you" Matt whispered. The others gasped, they had never heard Matt swear like that before, let alone threaten Tai so viciously.
"Izzy I think you should keep him away from me before I do something I regret" Matt warned. Izzy nodded and took Tai away to one side.
"I didn't mean things to turn out like this"! Tai wailed as Sora and Izzy stood with him.
"Of course you didn't, it's not your fault" Sora hugged him.
"You heard what Matt said" He sobbed.
"That was out of anger Tai, he doesn't mean it" Izzy assured him. Tai just sobbed louder.
Meanwhile, Joe was trying his best to tend to T.K's injury, his chest had a large deep slash mark going across it.
"There's not much I can do Matt". Joe said quietly.
"What do you mean?, there has to be"! Matt yelled.
"I'm sorry Matt, but I'm no hospital, let alone a doctor. My knowledge is limited and without any first aid materials, well I'm afraid T.K won't have long left. He's bleeding too much, our only hope is to get him back to Gennai's and through the Digiport, but frankly, I don't think there's time". Joe replied gravely.
"It can't end like this, I won't let it!, we have to try!, Gabumon digivolve"!
Gabumon digivolved to Garurumon and Joe carefully placed T.K in Matt's arms. Joe hopped onto Garurumon and Matt handed back his brother, Matt got on in front of Joe and after telling Mimi where they were going, they set off for Gennai's house.
Night had fallen in the Digital world. The digidestined had made a camp. Augumon had started a fire and the group huddled around it , trying to get warm.
"This reminds me of the time we were in the cold north and we met Frigimon" Augumon said brightly, trying to bring a conversation into the silence. Tai didn't reply though, he just stared vacantly into the flames.
"You can't blame yourself Tai, you didn't know what was to happen". Sora offered.
Tai just continued to stare at the fire.
"What Matt said back there he didn't mean" She continued.
"We should just give up right now". Tai whispered. "I've had enough!, all this place is doing is driving a wedge between us and I'm tired of it. I don't wanna fight anymore".
"We have to" Sora replied
"Says who"?
"No-one , it's just the right thing to do. They helped us save our home so now we help them save ours".
"We're not together anymore remember?, Joe , Matt and T.K have left, and by the way Matt was acting he doesn't want anything to do with me anymore".
"He's just in shock about what happened, he'll realize it was an accident soon enough. I think what we all need is rest, we'll talk more in the morning".
Tai just nodded. He watched as the others slowly fell asleep. He continued to stare into the flames, hoping that T.K would be Ok.
"I can't believe how irresponsible that idiot is"! Matt slammed his fist against the waiting room wall.
"Matt calm down. Look, we made it didn't we. Isn't that enough"? Joe took Matt by the shoulders.
"Not until I know T.k is alright!, Tai is such a jerk"!
"He didn't plan it"!
"I was right!, I shouldn't have gone there!, I knew it"! Matt yelled.
"What are talking about"?
"Well I didn't come right away because I knew something was going to go wrong, I had this feeling, it was so awful, but then my dad convinced me to go and it seemed like the right thing to do. So I pushed my fears aside, for T.K, for Gabumon, for the team, so team we turned out to be".
"You can't keep blaming Tai".
"I know, it's me, I'm the one to blame" Matt sunk down onto one of the chairs.
"No-one's to blame Matt, so stop looking for someone to blame". Joe sat down next to Matt and put a hand on his shoulder.
A doctor came out of the room that T.K was in.
"T.K"? Matt stood up.
"He'll be Ok, thankfully, it's not that deep, just a gash on the arm, he was lucky. He's lost a lot of blood, you did well getting him here so quickly". The doctor smiled.
"Thankyou doctor" Joe bowed slightly.
"Yeah thanks" Matt muttered. He was thinking about how earlier on , when he had been walking round to T.K's place how he had been saying he hated him. This was far from the truth, as he walked into T.K's hospital room, he thought of how much he wanted to take T.K's place, so he wouldn't have to suffer.
"Hey big brother" T.K called out happily.
"Hey squirt" Matt mumbled back half-heartedly.
"I got stitches!, and a sling look"! T.K showed off his injury.
It should be me there TK not you.
"Yeah great". Matt managed a smile.
Why wasn;t I there for you, why did I have tto hang at the back as always lost in myself.
"I'm looking forward to going back to the Digital world". T.K chatted.
I was too into myself and selfish to think about what you were doing so far ahead.
"You're not still mad at Tai are you? Cos it wasn't his fault, I said I'd be Ok". T.K continued unaware that Matt wasn't listening.
How can I let myself get like that?, I'm so wrapped up in my own life I don't notice others, I didn;'t go to the digital world because I was thinking about myself.
"That Ladysatanmon better watch out when we get there!, she'll have the battle of her life, and lose"! T.K laughed.
Poor Gabumon , I lay my problems on him and I never ask how he is, how he's feeling, I'm too selfish, too selfish.
"Matt are you listening"?
Too selfish.
"MATT"! T.K yelled.
"What sorry"? Matt came to his senses. There I go again, to busy thinking about myself to take notice of my brother.
"I'm just sayin' how I can't wait to get back to the digital world"
"We're not going back T.K, ever" Matt replied firmly.
"Why?, we have to!, I gotta save Patamon with the others"! T.K shouted.
"Calm down, it's not for the best, out there people end up getting hurt and I refuse to let it happen again".
"Please Matt, we have to go back, the others can't win without us".
"No T.K, I've told Joe to go back and tell the others not to expect us back, he's already gone".
"But they can't win!, Izzy said we had to be a full team"
"Sorry T.k"
"I HATE YOU MATT!, I HATE YOU, YOU'RE SO SELFISH, I WISH YOU WERE DEAD"! T.K shouted loudly.
His words rang in the air, I wish you were dead. Matt stood back in shock.
"If that's what you want" He said grimly before running out of the room, he ran so fast, he didn't hear his brother's shouted apoligy.
"What do you mean they're not coming back"? Tai shouted as a breathless Joe ran up to him.
"That's what he said" Joe panted.
"Then we have no chance then Gennai says we have to have a full team, we have to go back to the real world and sort this out". Tai decided.
"But all the time we're spending on this, the more time Ladysatanmon is spending on her portal" Izzy reminded him.
"We have no choice, we need a full team to stand a chance so we have to".
The others nodded, they knew what they had to do, they had to convince Matt they needed him.
Matt slammed the door of his apartment shut. Luckily, his father was out at work. He still couldn't believe that T.K wanted him dead. Maybe he was better off that way, after all, the others didn't like him anymore. He was too selfish to care for others.
It seemed like the best way. Tears raced down his cheeks, Matt started to sob as he sunk down on the kitchen floor.
He stayed that way for a good half an hour, he pulled himself back into a standing position.
I have to end it all now for everyon'e sake, the world will be a better place without Matt Ishida.
Matt rummaged in the kitchen drawer, he found the meat knife. It was large and sharp, prefect for the job.
Matt held his wrists face up, and brought the knife down on them.
Tai ran all the way to Matt's apartment block. He hoped he wasn't too late, he had heard about the argument from T.K. That poor kid thinks he's driven Matt to suicide. Tai prayed that T.K was wrong and that Matt was just mad. Tai hammered on Matt's door.
"Come on Ishida, be there" Tai muttered.
No one came to the door.
"No Matt please" Tai hammered harder, the door had been locked.
He had to get in, he'd seen so many cop dramas he followed how to open a door that way. He kicked the door in after a couple of attempts, and took a quick look back at his handiwork before continuing his search for Matt.
He found his friend, lying in a pool of his own blood on the kitchen floor, the knife at his side.
Ladysatanmon had been completely forgotten in the light of what happened. The Digital world was the last thing on Tai's mind as he sat in the ambulance with his best friend. His best friend who was dying.
Tai looked at Matt's wrists which we roughly dressed to stem the flow of blood. Matt had really laid into them, Tai could remember the ugly gashes when he went to Matt's side on the kitchen floor.
"Don't worry kid, you're friend will be alright" The paramedic tried to comfort Tai.
How could he lie so blantently when it was obvious Matt was far from alright. Tai thought to himself.
The ambulance pulled into the drive of the hospital, and whatever happened next became a blur to Tai, he was pushed and shoved every which way, before being told to wait in the relatives room.
Tai sat down and silently prayed that Matt would pull through.
Meanwhile, away from the Digidestined, Ladysatanmon was planning her arrival in the real world.
"When will the portal be open"? She snapped at a Gazimon.
"Soon mistress, everything is nearly complete". The Gazimon bowed.
"Well hurry up, it won't be long before that old fool Gennai calls those kids". She growled back.
"Yes Mistress" The Gazimon shuffled out nervously.
Sora had been trying to console T.K for an hour now.
Come on Matt pull through, T.K needs you, we all do……..
T.K wailed on as Sora held him.
"Sshh T.K don't worry, Matt will be fine". She had decided not to tell T.K about Matt slashing his wrists, instead she told him that Tai had gone round to talk to Matt and that they would be back soon.
If you die now that that'll be the end.
Sora held back her own tears, she knew it wouldn't do T.K any good if she started crying.
Tai sat in Matt's room, he hadn't even called Matt's mom or dad. The nurse was calling Mr Ishida for him. Tai watched his friend, willing him to wake up.
Mr Ishida rushed into the room , allowing the door to slam loudly as he did so.
Matt jerked.
"Matt"! Tai jumped off his chair.
"Matt!, my God what's gone on here"! Mr Ishida yelled.
"Sir I think you just gave me a good idea"! Tai smiled.
He ran up to the door and opened in, Tai then slammed it with all his might, this caused Matt to move again. Mr Ishida soon got the idea.
"Let me try, I'm stronger" He suggested.
Tai gladly opened the door for Mr Ishida and stood back to watch.
Mr Ishida summoned all his strength. He slammed the door so hard it came off the hinges.
"Another five minutes daddy………." Matt muttered, stirring.
Tai held back a laugh and smirked at what Matt had just said.
"I'm here Matt, come one, it's time to get up" Mr Ishida lent over his son.
Matt opened his eyes.
"Where am I"? He asked.
"At the hospital"
"What happened"?
"I think Tai can answer that one for you"
"You had an argument with T.K and then you slashed your wrists". Tai answered.
"Oh yeah" Matt said a little sheepishly.
"Excuse me what has gone on here"? A doctor came into the room.
"Er sorry that was me, I was a little…….wound up" Mr Ishida apoligised. "I'll pay for the damage"
As the doctor and Mr Ishida talked, Tai turned to Matt.
"Listen, we need you, I think we should put what happened behind us, the fate of the Digital world is once again in our hands" Tai muttered.
"We'll talk later, right now T.K needs me. I need you to cause some kind of distraction"
Tai nodded and started to yell really loudly.
"Ow God look at that"! He shouted.
"What"? The doctor turned around.
"There's something in the hallway, Oh God it's awful"1 Tai continued.
The doctor ran out of the room.
"Thanks man" Matt smiled and, with a small nod of acknowledgement to his father, he ran out of the room, careful to avoid any doctors.
He ran down the hallway and leapt into the lift, he went up to the floor T.k was in and ran into his room.
"T.K"! He yelled.
"Big brother"! T.K shouted back, breaking his hug with Sora.
Matt held T.K gently.
"I'm so sorry T.k, Sorry" Matt held back tears.
"No I'm sorry Matt, I don't want you dead, ever"!
"I know, I know". Matt let his tears flow.
Sora stood back and smiled.
"What have you done to yourself"? T.K asked as he saw the bandages around Matt's wrists.
"That's nothing squirt, just a little accident. No need to worry, so are we gonna beat that eveil Digimon then or what"?
T.K cheered happily. He got out of bed.
"What about the doctors"? Sora asked.
"Piece of cake" Matt grinned. He lifted T.K into his arms and walked out of the door, Sora followed closely behind.
Tai was waiting outside.
"I can't belueve how easy it is to just walk out like that" Sora mused.
"Well we're out now so let's get going". Matt put T.K down.
"Hold it right there son"! Mr Ishida appeared from out of the hospital.
"Yes Dad"? Matt asked, a little nervous.
"Good luck" Mr Ishida smiled at his son.
"Thanks dad" Matt smiled back.
Tai, T.K and Sora also smiled.
"Where are the others"? T.K asked.
"They're still in the Digital world, they're keeping an eye on it for us". Sora replied.
"Well we'd better get back there"! Matt yelled.
Tai was prepared to reply , but before he could, he noticed the sky had turned a threatening black. He could hear thunder and lightning streaked across the sky.
"This is the cliché that tells us something bad is about to happen" Matt joked.
"This is no time for jokes Matt" Tai warned.
"What's going on"? Sora asked, even though she knew, no-one would have the answer.
"Tai did you bring the digimon back with you"? T.K asked.
"Only Gabumon and Augumon, they're at my house". Tai answered, not taking his eyes off the sky.
"I think it would be wise to go and get them" Matt replied.
"Get in the van everyone" Mr Ishida motioned to his, everyone got in.
Meanwhile, the sky in the Digitalworld was doing the exact same thing.
"What's happening"? Joe asked.
"I don't know, it's a strange phenomena , I can't explain it" Izzy replied.
"I think we should go back to Gennai's house, it'll be safe there" Kari suggested,
"Good idea Kari, I say we go with that plan". Tentomon agreed.
"Right then we'd better go and be quick about it" Gatomon started running in the direction of Gennai's house, the others followed.
"I'm no good at running……" Mimi said breathlessly.
"We have no choice , look I'm not bossy like Tai, I'm not reassuring like Sora and I can't make a joke of out things or be sensible like Matt. But I'm reliable, and take it from me, you'll run when you understand what trouble we're bound to be in" Joe shouted.
"Nicely put Joe" Gomamon smiled up at his partner.
"Thanks buddy" Joe smiled back.
"I can't think of what's happening" Augumon stared up at the sky as the group stood outside Tai's apartment block.
By now, news had spread about the strange activity and nearly everyone was stood outside staring at the sky.
"I'll bet it has something to do with Ladysatanmon" Gabumon said darkly.
"You're saying she's finished the portal"? Augumon replied.
"Would you guys mind filling me in"? Matt asked.
"Well, Ladysatanmon has been building a portal to enable her to come to the real world, like Myotismon did, and she must have achieved it, due to the strange goings-on in the sky" Gabumon answered.
"I see, well, what are we gonna do about it"? Matt replied.
"There's not much we can do until she appears" Augumon said.
"Maybe we should get the others from the Digital world". Tai suggested.
"How can we contact them"? T.K asked.
"Matt, Izzy's laptop is in the van, I brought it with me in case you wanted it". Mr Ishida ran to the van and came back with Izzy's laptop.
"Thanks Dad" Matt typed in the password and began typing an e-mail to Gennai.
"Gennai, there;s an e-mail here from Matt" Izzy typed at Gennai's computer.
"Then read it out". Gennai replied.
"It says, Guys, the sky is freaked out here, we need your help, Ladysatanmon has made it through to the real world, or so we think, we need a full team to defeat her, we're outside Tai's apartment block and that's where we'll stay if you want to meet us. I'm on Izzy's laptop so send back an e-mail to say whether you can come". Izzy looked around at the group.
"If she's got through to the real world then why is the sky here freaking out"? Joe asked.
"Because of the connection between the worlds, this portal has upset that balance and it looks like you're all needed so I suggest you go back to the real world and fight from that end. Send an e-mail back to Matt and instruct him to keep the laptop on and then he can open the digiport from that end so you'll all appear right where you want to be". Gennai replied.
"Right I'll do it now" Izzy started to type furiously at the keyboard.
"I need to open the digiport from our end to let the others through" Matt said as he typed away.
"Right then do it" Tai ordered.
"Don't order me about Tai, we're not exactly friends right now, but I'm not fighting about that now, there's more important things to think about". Matt didn't look up from the computer.
"Sorry Matt" Tai looked down at Matt, he wished he could turn back the clock, if it wasn't for their fighting, Ladysatanmon would be gone by now and none of this would be happening.
Matt opened the digiport and there was the now-customary flash of light.
Only Joe appeared.
"Joe, where are the the others"? Matt asked.
"They were right next to me, it must have gone wrong". Joe replied.
"WHERE'S KARI"! Tai yelled, he grabbed Joe.
"Hey hands off him Tai it's not his fault". Matt warned.
"Thanks Matt". Joe readjusted his jumper.
"Anytime. So it looks like what's happening in the sky has some effect on the digiports" Gabumon spoke up.
"Yeah the sky in the digital world is pretty whacked too". Gomamon answered.
"Well we may not be a complete team but when Ladysatanmon arrives we'll give it our best shot". Augumon yelled.
"Dad you'd better get somewhere safe, it's too risky out here". Matt addressed him father.
"No way son, if you're here , then I am".
"Please dad, I've got Gabumon to protect me", Matt pleaded.
"Well ok, if you're sure".
"I am".
"Good luck son, I know you can do it".
"Thanks dad" Matt hugged his father before Mr Ishida walked towards the crowd a short distance away.
Thunder rumbled and a large flash of lightning ilumminated the sky. The digidestined looked up and a large black cloud formed in front of their eyes.
"This can't be good" Matt remarked, he felt T.K grab his leg.
An evil laugh rang out from the cloud. A figure was appearing. Ladysatanmon.
She looked like a larger, more evil version of Angewomon.
"So I guess that's her". Matt said.
"No duh"! Tai replied coldly. Matt gave him a dirty look.
"You fools!, you think you can stop me!, well I;m here to show you different"! Ladysatamon shrieked. The crowd began to scream.
"Guys get ready" Tai motioned to the Digimon.
"Augumon warp digivolve to……………..Wargreymon"!
"Gabumon warp digivolve to……………….Metalgarurumon".
"Patamon digivolve to………..Angemon".
"Gomamon digivolve to ikakumon"!
"Ikakumon digivolve to Zudomon"!
"Biyomon digivolve to Birdramon".
"Birdramon digivolve to Garudamon".
"Ha! Is that the best you can do"! Ladysatanmon yelled. "Chilly lightining"!
A shot of black light came from her hands and it hit Garudamon immediately turning her back into Yokomon.
"Yokomon"! Sora screamed. She ran forward and grabbed her digimon partner.
"Metalgarurumon attack"! Matt yelled.
"Ice wolf claw"! Metal garurmon launched his attack.
The impact had no effect on Ladysatanmon. She laughed again.
"Now I'll show you pathetic kids what I can really do!, Chilly Lightning" !
This time the attack was fired at T.K.
"No T.K"! Matt screamed. Before he culd react Tai had jumped in front of his little brother. The strike hit Tai and he fell to the ground.
"TAI"! Matt yelled, he ran to his friend and knelt down beside him. "Say something"
The crowd screamed as they realised what had happened to Tai.
Matt wiped a few tears out of his eyes before turning to Ladysatanmon.
"You hurt my friend"! He yelled at her.
"That's the point! Foolish Digidestined!, now you will be the next to face my wrath"!
"Flower Cannon"! Lilymon flew towards Ladysatanmon, firing her attack.
"Lilymon?, that means………." Joe began
"Joe, Matt, T.K, Sora ,Tai"! Mimi ran up to her friends.
"How'd you get here, I didn't open the Digiport from this end"? Matt asked, he still held Tai in his arms.
"I don't really know".
"Where are Izzy and Kari"? Joe asked.
"I don't know that either" Mimi shrugged sadly. "What happened to Tai"?
"He got hit by one of Ladysatanmon's attacks" T.K replied sadly.
"We he be alright"? Mimi asked.
"I don't know" Matt looked at his friend.
"Me and Joe'll look after Tai, Matt get back to the Digimon". Sora took Tai out of Matt's arms. Matt turned back to the fight where all the digimon were launching attacks on Ladysatanmon.
"C'mon guys"! Matt yelled. T.K ran up to his little brother.
"Will they do it Matt"?
"Of course they will squirt".
"But Gennai said we all have to be together".
"I know but they're isn't anything we can do, but fight the best we can". Matt smiled down at his brother.
"They're losing, look". T.K pointed to the Digimon, as Ladysatanmon began to turn them back to rookies one by one.
A flash of light appeared behind Matt and Izzy and Kari appeared with Tentomon and Gatomon.
"Hi guys"! Kari said happily.
"Finally after all that, Gennai said the portal had really upset the balance between our worlds. If we don't do something soon then we're all doomed". Izzy said.
Meanwhile Kari had discovered Tai had been hurt, she ran over to Sora.
"Sora what's happened"?
"He got hit by an attack, I'm trying to wake him up". Sora was shaking Tai gently.
"Please wake up Tai" Kari grabbed her brother's hand.
"Izzy did Gennai tell you anything that could help our situation"? Matt asked.
"He said if we all joined together then through the power of each of us we could defeat Ladysatanmon. Looks like we better hurry too, she's started to destroy the city". Izzy motioned to Ladysatanmon , who had left the tired digimon in a heap and was concentrating on tearing down buildings. "She won't stop until she's destroyed our world".
"Joined together?, hmm, I can't think, unless…………….". Matt thought.
"What?, do you think there is a way"? Mimi asked.
"Well remember Myotismon when he came back as Venomyotismon?, we defeated him by standing round him , the light from our crests and digivices helped remember"?
"Yeah , so what Matt's saying is we could try that again" Izzy nodded
"You bet, it's worth a shot" Matt said. "I'll see how Tai is doing".
"Kabuterimon's the only one left who isn't a rookie, I'll get him to hold off Ladysatanmon while we get things sorted". Izzy replied.
Matt nodded and walked towards Tai. Sora and Kari made way for him as he knelt down holding Tai's head in his hands.
"Listen Tai, of you can hear me, you have to wake up. We need you, you're part of the team, our leader. Don't give in , not now, I know we can win. If it's worth anything now, I'm sorry ok?, for all the things said today, I'm sorry, I'm not mad at you anymore, just please wake up, the team needs you, I need you". Matt cried, his crest glowed as he spoke. A blue light from it came over Tai.
"What's happening"? T.K asked.
"It looks like Matt proved his friendship with Tai and the light is healing Tai". Joe spoke up.
"Let's hope so" Kari replied.
The light around Tai faded and Tai opened his eyes, he saw Matt sat over him.
"Matt……"? He muttered.
"Tai, you're alright, thank God". Matt smiled down at his friend.
"I thought you were mad at me"?
"Life's too short buddy". Matt smiled again, this time, Tai smiled along with him.
"C'mon guys, Kabuterimon can't hold her off much longer" Izzy shouted as he watched his brave partner battle with the evil digimon.
"Ok, guys I want you all to get in a circle and hold you digivices out like we did with Venomyotismon ok"? Matt took charge as he watched his friend gather in the circle.
"You're not a bad leader Matt" Tai grinned.
"Right then, close your eyes, and see what happens" Matt replied.
The group closed their eyes together and the crowd of onlookers watched as beams of coloured light shot up from each digivice and joined together just above the Digidestineds heads.
The digidestined opened their eyes and watched in amazement as the flash of light turned white and hit their digimon who were on the ground, weak and tired from the battle.
"What is this"? Ladysatanmon shrieked.
The light grew bigger and in a large flash, it disappeared.
All of the digidestined were shocked at the sight that met their eyes. There , in front of them stood, a very large, strong looking digimon.
"What happened"? Kari asked.
"It looks like all of our digimon joined together…….." Tai began.
"And became one" Matt finished.
"So that's what Gennai meant by us all joining together" Izzy mused.
"Izzy analyse it on the laptop"! Sora asked.
Izzy typed away on his laptop before standing up again.
"My analyser doesn't recognise it". He said simply.
The digimon stepped forward.
"I'm Ultramon and I'm all of your digimon joined together, thanks to your power I came to be". The digimon spoke.
"Wow" T.K looked up. "Patamon are you in there"?
"Later squirt, let Ultramon do his job". Matt replied. He nodded to the large digimon ahead of him.
"ULITMATE FORCE"! Ultramon shouted, firing his attack at Ladysatanmon. She shrieked loudly as the attack made contact with her body.
"Woah, man cool"! Tai remarked.
"Hey I told Gennai what happened and he says that this is the first time more than two digimon have ever joined together to become one"! Izzy said excitedly.
"It's so cool"! Sora watched Ultramon fighting with Ladysatanmon.
"I love the colours, wonderful match"! Mimi exclaimed. "Not one clash"!
"Erm…..guys…..noticed how the whole city is like…….staring at us" Joe said nervously.
"We'll be on the news!, and here's me with only my second best outfit on"! Mimi complained.
"ULITMATE FORCE"! Ultramon fired his final attack, and with an earsplitting scream, Ladysatanmon was gone.
The team cheered happily. Hugging each other and laughing together. Tai stood in front of Matt.
"Listen Matt……I guess……." Tai began.
"No Tai…..don't i……….." Matt started.
"I'm so sorry"! They said in unison, before laughing.
"Friends"? Matt asked holding out his hand.
"Best forever buddy"! Tai hugged his best friend. He was so happy. Once again they had saved their world, and the Digital world and no-one would ever forget this moment in time when everyone was happy.
THE END
Notes : Ok ok, it was a little bit of a cheesy ending. Some of the characters can get OOC at times but it all goes along with the fic. Please review good or bad, but if it's bad, make it constructive please. Working on a new fic, hopefully and Izzy-centric.
I hate him sometimes.
I really do.
Always wants me when I'm doing something important.
Brothers!
Can't live with 'em , can't live without 'em.
I knock on the door of mom and T.k's place, a long bus ride. This better be good. Mom answers, I can't really face her right now.
"Matt, it's great to see you"! She hugs me. I break away. She frowns but then calls for T.K.
He charges through the hallway and wraps his arms around my leg.
"Big brother"! He says affectionately.
"Get off me squirt" I reply, joking of course. He gently drags me to his room. He clears enough cuddly toys off his bed for me to sit down.
"So why'd you need to see me, I was just in the middle of…………"
"Have you got Izzy's mail yet"?
"Is that it?, couldn't you have said it over the phone"?
"Well have you"?
"No, I never really check the computer dad's always…………."
"You have to1, it's important"!
"Can't you just tell me now"?
"Well Ok. It says we might have to go back to the digital world"!
"What"?
"There's a new enemy!, she's called Ladysatanmon, Gennai sent Izzy an e- mail saying that we go go back if we wanted"
"If we wanted"?
"Yeah, the e-mail said that we've done so much for the Digimon already, we can't be expected to go back everytime something else turns up. It's a choice".
"There' s no choice T.k"
"Huh"?
"Well, think about it. Don't you feel like you have to"?
"I suppose so".
"That's your answer then" Matt replied darkly. The phone rang. Matt answered.
"Hi, oh Tai…..it's you"
"Don't sound so pleased" Tai replied quite coldly for him.
"Don't worry I won't"
"Listen, since you're in one of your moods can I speak to T.K"?
"I'm not in………" Matt started before T.K snatched the phone.
"Hey Tai, T.K here"
"Great. Have you had Izzy's e-mail"?
"Yeah"
"What are you going to do"?
"That's a silly question Tai, of course I'm going!, I wanna help out patamon"
"Great, well there's a meeting of the team at my place, come round In about an hour if you can. Tell Matt to as well".
"Ok, see ya then" T.K put the phone down. "There's a digidestined meeting at Tai's place in an hour".
"Have fun" Matt replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Aren't you coming"?
"I don't think so".
"Matt……………"
"Is that all you wanted to talk to me about?, good, I'm leaving now" Matt walked out of the apartment without saying goodbye.
The meeting began, as planned. Matt was the only one not sat around Tai's dining table.
"So, we're all here apart from Matt. That's how much Gabumon means to him" Tai said sourly.
"Tai, you know that Gabumon means a lot to Matt" Sora replied
"Then why isn't Matt here then"?
"I don't know"
"Exactly".
Izzy typed away at his laptop.
"Gennai says that since we left the digital world after the final battle, he's been working on a way for us to get back into the digital world whenever we want. He says he thinks he's finally developed a way. It's called a digiport. It can be opened using a computer and a digivice. He's not sure if it works though". He said not looking up.
"So you're saying even if we want to, we might not be able to go and help"? Joe asked.
"That's about it". Izzy replied quietly.
"It has to work!, it just has to"! Tai shouted.
"Well, if we're all ready, then we can try it now"
"What about Matt"? T.k asked.
"He obviously doesn't want to come, we can't wait forever, we've got a world to save"! Tai reached for his goggles.
Izzy set up the computer, each digidestined held out their digivice and yelled.
"Digiport open"!
In an amazing flash of light, the room emptied.
Matt walked through the door of the apartment he shared with his dad. He kicked off his trainers and pulled off his sweater.
"Matt is that you"? Mr Ishida yelled from the kitchen.
"No, it's a burgler, I've come to rob the family silver" Matt replied sarcastically.
"I thought you'd be with the others"
"How'd you know about that"?
"T.K came round and told me that he was going back to that digiworld thingy. I thought since he was going, you'd go too. I know how you are about looking after him".
"Yeah, well, you thought wrong didn't you" Matt slammed a mug down on the side. He switched the kettle on.
"Coffee's already in the pot" Mr Ishida said quietly.
"Whatever".
"So why didn't you go"?
"Because"
"Great reason son, totally does you justice" Mr Ishida replied. It was obvious where Matt got his sarcasm from.
"I just didn't want to"
"But why"?
"I just didn't want to Ok"? Matt stormed out of the room.
"Alright it worked"! Tai yelled. They found themselves in Gennai's lounge.
"Long time no see" Gennai said happily.
"Gennai hi"! Sora greeted.
"Glad you could come. Sorry about this, but let's get down to business. Ladysatanmon, is the worst enemy this world has ever seen. The dark masters were cupcakes compared to her. However, I have faith that you will win again. The digimon are in the garden". Gennai led the way to the garden.
"Tai"! Augumon shouted
"Sora" Biyomon cried
"Mimi"! Palmon yelled.
"T.K" Patamon ran to his arms.
"Kari"! Gatomon ran to her partner.
"Joe" Gomamon bounded towards him.
"And Izzy"! Tentomon rushed to his friend.
"SO great to see you again" The digimon said in unison.
"Where's Matt"? Gabumon asked worriedly.
"Sorry Gabumon, he didn't come" T.k said softly.
"But why"? Everyone turned to see the look of distress on Gabumon's face.
"We don't know, he wouldn't say" T.k replied.
"Typical Matt" Gabumon tried to hide his disappointment.
Matt lay on his bed. He thought about what T.k would be doing now. He'd be there, saving the Digiworld with his friends.
"Why didn't I go"? He asked himself. "Because I was scared. Scared that Gabumon wouldn't want me anymore. Scared that something would happen to T.K, not to mention the way I have been with Tai, we'd kill each other before Ladysatanmon".
Matt sat up and looked over to his bedside table. He picked up a photo of T.K.
"What did I do wrong?, you don't need me anymore. You're fine on your own. You don't need me".
He was shocked to see a tear drip on the glass. He wiped his eyes furiously. I don't cry, he said to himself. He put the picture back on the table. He was shocked by a knock on his door.
"Come in"
Mr Ishida came in.
"HI dad"
"Matt, I know I'm not the greatest father in the world. I know I've not always been there when you needed me. But I want to be, something is wrong. I can tell that much. You have to feel like you can tell me Matt, it doesn't make you a coward, telling me would be the bravest thing you could do. Give me a chance Matt, I'll be a better father".
"I can't dad, don't you see?, this is something I have to work out for myself".
"You don't have to be alone Matt, I know I've made you feel like you've been alone all this time. Ever since your mother and I…….divorced……I've been too wrapped up in myself to realise, what it was doing to you. You and T.K had been so close, and then……well……you mother and I ruined that. I'm sorry Matt, I should have seen what I was doing to you".
"It's got nothing to do with the divorce. When I was in the Digital world, I felt I didn't have a purpose, that no-one really needed me. I overcame it, but I feel it coming back, and the only person that helped me was………"
"Gabumon"
"Yeah".
"I don't know much about what happened that summer, but I do know this. You came back and you'd changed, for the better, you were so grown up, I hardly recognised you. Gabumon had done something in a day that I've been trying to do for eleven years, understand you".
"Dad…….."
"You want to go back don't you"?
"Well………yes….but "
"You're too afraid they won't want you back"
"Yes I guess………"
"They will Matt, you're a part of the team, you have the crest of Friendship, that's an important part of life, without friendship, there'd be loneliness. If that's what you want Matt, go back. If you want the honest to God truth, I think you should, I believe in you Matt, I know you have the strength to beat whatever it is. I'll be with you son, in your heart. Never forget that".
This time Matt let the tears course down his cheeks. Mr Ishida seemed a little shocked, but he took his son, and for the first time that Matt could remember, Mr Ishida held his son.
"Come on guys , what's with you all"? Tai asked, they had been walking for three miles, and were resting by some trees.
"I want Matt" T.K relayed the feelings of the group.
"He didn't want to come T.k". Sora said softly.
"Did you see the look on Gabumon's face when he saw Matt wasn't there?, I could barely take it". Augumon spoke up.
"I know, it was awful, I can't believe Matt would do something like that". Tai replied.
"It's almost like he turned against Gabumon" Joe put in his opinion.
"I thought Gabumon meant a lot to Matt, maybe we misjudged who Matt is" Mimi put in.
"I can't believe you're all doing this"! T.K stood up. "You're all turning against my brother!, you think you know him, but none of you do, not like I know him"! T.k picked up patamon and walked off. "I don't need any of you" He shouted back at the group.
"Nice one guys" Sora said breaking the silence.
"What we said was true, every bit of it"! Tai replied harshly.
"Why are we all fighting amongst ourselves?, we should be concentrating on defeating the real enemy" Izzy spoke up.
Matt ran all the way up the stairs of the apartment block. He hammered furiously on the door of Tai's apartment. Mrs Kamiya opened the door.
"Matt hi!, I thought you were with the others"
"Have they gone"? Matt panted.
"I'm afraid so, Tai said something about going back to the Digital world".
"I'mn too late then"?
"I'm sorry Matt, but Izzy has left his laptop. Why don't you take it with you. You can give it back to him then when they come back".
"Ok, thanks Mrs Kamiya" Matt replied as Mrs Kamiya handed him the laptop. Matt tucked it under his arm and headed off home.
He walked the streets not knowing what to do, he didn't even know how the others had gotten back into the digital world, so he couldn't follow them.
As he got to his apartment , an idea struck him. He rushed into the apartment and put Izzy's laptop down on the table.
"Matt, I thought you were going"? Mr Ishida asked.
"I am, if what I'm about to try works". Matt opened up the laptop and turned it back on. He waited for it to load. He clicked on Izzy's e-mails.
"Dammit!, pass-word protected!, wait a sec…….hmmm, prodigious, alright I'm in"! There was an e-mail from Gennai. Matt read it ,before leaping from the chair with excitement.
"I know how they got there Dad"! He shouted.
"How"?
"It says something called a digiport, all I have to do is follow the steps on the e-mail and then I can go to the digital world".
"Go for it son, remember what I told you"
"I will, see ya soon dad".
Matt set up the digiport following Gennai's steps. He pulled his digivice out of his pocket.
"Digiport open"! He yelled.
Mr Ishida shielded his eyes as a bright flash of light, transported his son out of the apartment.
"Good luck Matt" He whispered to himself.
"We have to find T.K before we fight Ladysatanmon" Sora insisted.
"I don't understand why any of you didn't go after him" Izzy spoke up, he felt alone without his laptop.
"I didn't see you chasing after him"! Tai shouted.
"This is giving me a migrane" Joe complained.
"For once in your life quiet complaining Joe" Tai yelled.
"He was only saying something, I didn't know that was such a crime" Mimi stuck up for Joe.
"So that's it Joe, you need a girl to stick up for you"! Tai laughed.
"You're all forgetting about T.K" Kari cried.
"Kari stay out of this" Tai shouted. Kari started crying.
"WILL EVERYBODY SHUT UP"! Biyomon shouted above the arguing.
"Yeah you're all forgetting the reason you came here" Augumon agreed.
"Stop fighting with each other and remember why you came" Palmon continued.
"Let's all calm down and get out priorities straight. Number one, we stop fighting, I'm open to suggestion now" Gomamon said
"Number two , we find T.K" Gatomon finshed for him.
"And number three , we beat that Ladysatanmon into the ground"! Augumon shouted.
T.K walked round the forest , not sure where he was going. Patamon followed, staying ever true to his partner.
"I want my brother patamon" T.K fell to his knees.
"I know you do T.K, I think we all do, without the crest of friendship, they're all fighting".
"Do you think that's why they're fighting?, I thought they were all just mad at Matt".
"I'm not sure, I don't think they're all mad at Matt though".
"You were there, you heard the things they were saying about him".
"They didn't mean any of those things"
"They did Patamon, I could see it in their faces. They all hate Matt"! T.K pounded the ground with his small fists. The tears followed. Patamon could do nothing but watch T.K, he had no comforting words for his friend, mainly because he thought that Matt was being a bit of a jerk, upsetting Gabumon like he did.
Gennai answered the door. He had tried to ignore the frantic knocking but it had just got louder and louder.
There stood in the doorway was the bearer of friendship, Matt Ishida.
"Matt?, how'd you get here"?
"Through the Digiport, it's a long story, I need to find the others, do you know where they might be"?
"There's someone you need to think about before finding the others" Gennai said coldly.
"Gabumon"
"That's if he'll talk to you"
Matt felt his stomach twist in a knot, he hadn't thought about how Gabumon might have reacted when the others came but he didn't.
"He's sat out in the garden" Gennai continued breaking Matt's train of thought.
"Thanks" Matt pushed open the patio doors and walked out into the garden. He saw Gabumon's figure at the end of the garden. He walked slowly over to him.
"Gabumon" He said gently. The digimon did not turn around.
"Finally decided I'm good enough for you to waste your time on"? Gabumon said sharply.
"I'm sorry about that, I had to get my head straight. I had some issues".
"You akways have issues Matt, what else is new"?
"Well I've said sorry to you and that's all I can say. I understand that you don't want anything to do with me".
"You got that right"
Matt was taken aback by this reply. He nodded slowly.
"Goodbye Gabumon" He said sadly. He turned back towards Gennai's house. He realised just how much he had upset his friend. Searching for the others on his own wouldn't be an easy task. But he had to support his brother. Without saying anything to Gennai, Matt set off on his search.
Out in the garden , tears fell down Gabumon's face.
T.K sat in a heap in the same spot he'd been now for an hour. He didn't want to get up, to move, to go back to the others. He couldn't, not after what they had all said about Matt. Patamon hadn't said much either, he didn't want to tell T.K what he thought about his brother. He just sat beside his partner, humming to himself.
"Hey squirt what are you doing all alone" A familier voice called out. T.K stood up and turned around, there stood a metre away from him , was Matt.
"Matt!, you came, you really came"! He shouted leaping into his brother's arms.
"Looks like it"
"Where's Gabumon"?
Matt's arms stiffened. T.K knew he has asked the wrong question. Matt put T,K down.
"So…erm…..why are you on your own"? Matt asked, his voice faultering a little.
"I just wanted some time alone" T.K replied quickly, not wanting Matt to know the real reason.
"I bet the others are really mad at me"
"No, they're not" T.K lied.
"Do you know where to find them"?
"They're walking through this forest".
"We should go and join them then. I have a feeling this is gonna be a battle that we all need to fight in".
T.K nodded and took his brother's hand. Patamon followed behind.
It didn't take them long to find the others, T.K hadn't be away long enough for them to get any great distance. Matt walked slowly behind them, as if he were stalking them. T.K tried to speak but Matt covered his mouth. He wanted to know what they really thought of him before he rejoined them.
"They're both the same" Tai was saying.
"T.K's nothing like Matt, apart from the simlilar looks they have totally different personalities" Matt heard Izzy reply.
"I still can't believe Matt would do that to Gabumon though" Even Sora seemed against him.
"I thought he'd changed" Mimi said sadly.
"Me too" Joe agreed.
"We all did, we all thought he'd changed for the better, you know become more grown up. It turns out he's just the same jerk he always was". Tai finished.
"Nice to know you have friends" A voice spoke up, the group turned round. Matt stood in front of them, he was clutching a crying T.K's hand tightly. The group immediately looked embarrassed.
"I had some issues, some uncertainties at first about coming back. Thanks to my dad I got through them. I realised that I was letting the team down, so I came. I came to help you, to be part of the team again. I pushed aside whatever I might have been feeling and set my priorities on beating this new enemy. Little did I know the enemy was the people I thought were my friends. So go ahead, look embarrassed, you were fine when you thought I wasn't here weren't you?, making your judgements about who I am. Which one of you can honestly put your hand up and say you know what I was feeling?. I'm sorry to have bothered you all, needless to say you won't hear from me again, ever". Matt let go of T.K' hand. He turned to walk away.
"Matt no, I want to come with you" T.K tried to get his brother's hand again.
"Stay T.K, you're wanted here, you have friends, they need you, and anyway , you still have Patamon". Matt held back his tears.
"But Matt………"
"If you only ever listen to me this one time squirt, please , stay with the others. They need you as part of the team".
"I need you as my brother"
"I still will be, I just won't be around, if it'll make you feel better , here". Matt placed his tag and crest around T.K's neck. "Go ahead little guy, you believe in this more than I do right now".
Matt smiled weakly, before starting to walk way from the group.
"Aren't you gonna stop him"? Sora asked.
"What can I say?, he heard what we said about him, I think he won't accept any apoligy we give him".
"He's right, we are like enemies to him, we all said things about him, that deep down , we knew weren't true". Izzy admitted.
"And now, he's gone for good, we did that to him". Mimi continued.
"We're all guilty of making him feel bad". Joe agreed.
Tai looked at the floor, he felt the most guilty, he had started all the talk about Matt.
Matt sat by the lake where the team had first defeated Metalseadramon. It looked so crystal clear, so pure and perfect. He couldn't believe how his friends had turned against him so viciously. He knew he had made a mistake not agreeing to go straight away, but hadn't he paid for that already with Gabumon's reception?. Not that he'd be much use without a Digimon by his side.
He rested his arms on his knees and his head in his arms. He seemed to be in the same place as he had been when he had left the group the first time round. This time though, he was truly alone. No-one sat beside him telling him it was alright. No-one comforted him when the tears started to fall.
The Digital world seemed such a lonely place, desolate landscapes and empty lakes still not recovered from the wrath of the Dark masters.
It's even lonely when you have no friends. Matt had managed to burn all his bridges with his friends and his Digipartner.
Soft paws padded on the ground, silently making their way to the lone wolf by the lake. The paws didn't make themselves known to the boy until their owner spoke.
"I'm sorry Matt" The gentle, calming voice echoed across the lake.
The boy turned around, he was met by the sight of a long-lost friend.
"Gabumon…..I thought……."
"I thought too Matt, I know what I did to you at Gennai's wasn't fair".
"I'm sorry too, it must have hurt you so much when you saw I wasn't there".
"It did, but I thought that you must have had a good reason. After all your crest is friendship, and that's something you don't turn your back on".
"I have done though, I've left the group again".
"Why"?
"Because…….." Matt burst into tears again. Gabumon placed a reassuring paw on his friend. He didn't want to know why until Matt was ready to say so.
"I heard them…….they said things about me, behind my back, for all the pain it's caused they might as well have shot me".
"Don't say things like that Matt, I'mn sure they regret what ever they said".
"They sounded like they really hated me though, like I was the one who was the enemy. You wanna know something?, I don't even know who the enemy is anymore Gabumon. I mean, I thought it was my Dad, but I saw a new side of him today, then I thought it was them, but I'm starting to think, the one who's the real enemy, is me".
"Don't think that, it's not true, whatever you may think of them right noe, you're still a digidestined and you're still part of that team. I think you should go back and fight beside them. You might not think it Matt, but they need you. You're an important part of the team and without you, they can't win, just like the dark masters, in order for the digidestined to win, they need to be together, everyone of them, including you".
"How could I go back after what they and I said"?
"You'll be going back with me, someone you know to be your true friend, and you'll be going back to T.K, who needs you the most right now".
Matt nodded. All this sitting around was not going to win any battles. He had to push aside whatever hatred he had for the others right now and help the digital world return to normality.
"So what has this Ladysatanmon actually done then"? Matt asked.
"Gennai said that she'd upset the balance between the digital world and your world. She's made it possible for her evil digimon to pass through to your world".
"As far as I know, nothing like that has showed up in our world".
"There won't be yet, she's in her castle putting the finishing touches to the gateway that leads to your world. Sort of like the gateway Myotismon used remember"?
"How could I forget"
"That's why you have to stop her before she finshes the gate".
"Well then, we'd better get going"
"Matt, I can't help but notice, where's your crest"?
"I gave it to T.k, I thought I wouldn't need it anymore, so I gave to him".
"Get it back when we get there 'cos believe me, you're gonna need it"!
Tai leant against a tree trunk. The group sat in a clearing, thinking about Matt and what they had said about him. T.K clutched his brother's crest tightly, as if it brought him closer to Matt.
"What are we gonna do" Sora asked no-one in particular.
"I don't know anymore" Tai replied, putting his head back against the trunk and closing his eyes.
"I vote we find Matt and bring him back" T.K spoke up. Kari gripped his hand tightly.
"He could be anywhere now, it'd be like looking for a needle in a haystack. He might not even be in the Digital world anymore". Izzy still missed his computer.
"All because of us". Joe said sadly.
"We made him feel like he wasn't part of the team anymore" Mimi looked at the ground.
"If I'm thinking correctly, we need a complete team to defeat Ladysatanmon, just like with the Dark masters. So if Matt's not here, we don't really stand much of a chance" Izzy said quietly.
"That's just great then isn't it!, we've lost already"!
"Hey don't count your chickens before they've hatched". Matt said, he walked up to the group , Gabumon was close behind.
"MATT"! The others yelled.
"No autographs please" He smiled, an old part of him shining through.
"You've come back and after all what we'd said to you"! Tai felt tears in his eyes.
"I'm still mad but for the purpose of saving the digiworld I'm willing to put all that on hold right now".
"I'm so glad you're back big brother" T.K hugged Matt hard. He handed back his crest. "There you go, you're gonna need it back".
"Where do we go from here"? Joe asked.
"I'm not that sure, Gennai didn't exactly say much" Tai replied sheepishly.
"We know where Ladysatanmon's castle is, Gennai told us all about it to save time" Augumon spoke up.
"Great!, lead us there buddy"! Tai slapped Augumon playfully on the back.
"It feels like we've been walking for hours"! Mimi complained. In reality the group had only been walking for an hour or so. Matt had hung back as usual. He still didn't feel like part of the group, but he knew they had to be together to defeat Ladysatanmon.
"Why do you always walk behind"? A voice cut through his thoughts. It was Biyomon. Matt thought it strange that she was talking to him, she never usually did.
"I have my reasons" Matt replied coldly.
"Like what" Biyomon questioned.
"Like, I think you should let it drop".
"Maybe you should talk to Gabumon, he understands you more than any of us do".
"Sorry I snapped at you, it's not your fault they've turned against me".
"I haven't even if they have, I think that you had a valid reason not to come here straight away. I understand that much, they can't see that yet, they don't hate you, you just have to be patient until they realise".
"Maybe, but they said some pretty nasty things, stuff like that doesn't come from empty feelings".
"No it comes from the heat of the moment. They all regret what they said, and they know that they really upset you, and that upsets them. I think if you open up more, they'll understand you and you can all talk things through. Personally, I think that should happen before the battle. You can't walk into a battle with negative feelings in the group. It just wouldn't work out".
"You're right Biyomon, I think we should have a group meeting". Matt was about to continue before a scream cut through the forest.
"What was that"? He asked Biyomon, she just shrugged.
"OH MY GOD"! Matt heard Tai shout.
"What's happened"? Matt rushed to the front. He saw his brother on the ground, in a pool of blood.
"I knew I shouldn't have let him do it……he wanted to see what was ahead……I should have been more responsible". Tai was muttering as he knelt by T.K.
Matt pushed Tai aside so hard that Tai fell into a nearby mud puddle.
"T.K can you hear me"? Matt shook his little brother slightly. "What happened to him"? He asked Joe.
"T.K wanted to go ahead , so Tai said he could just as long as he didn't go to far. The next thing I know , there's a scream so we all hurry around the bend and then we find T.K like this" Joe replied breathlessly. He took hold of T.K summoning his first aid knowledge.
Matt stood up and walked over to Tai who had since stood up.
"You let him go off alone" Matt said in a dangerously low tone.
"I…..I……I……" Tai stuttered.
"You let my eight year old brother go off into some unknown land, alone". Matt continued.
"But…..he…..I……."
"I should fucking kill you" Matt whispered. The others gasped, they had never heard Matt swear like that before, let alone threaten Tai so viciously.
"Izzy I think you should keep him away from me before I do something I regret" Matt warned. Izzy nodded and took Tai away to one side.
"I didn't mean things to turn out like this"! Tai wailed as Sora and Izzy stood with him.
"Of course you didn't, it's not your fault" Sora hugged him.
"You heard what Matt said" He sobbed.
"That was out of anger Tai, he doesn't mean it" Izzy assured him. Tai just sobbed louder.
Meanwhile, Joe was trying his best to tend to T.K's injury, his chest had a large deep slash mark going across it.
"There's not much I can do Matt". Joe said quietly.
"What do you mean?, there has to be"! Matt yelled.
"I'm sorry Matt, but I'm no hospital, let alone a doctor. My knowledge is limited and without any first aid materials, well I'm afraid T.K won't have long left. He's bleeding too much, our only hope is to get him back to Gennai's and through the Digiport, but frankly, I don't think there's time". Joe replied gravely.
"It can't end like this, I won't let it!, we have to try!, Gabumon digivolve"!
Gabumon digivolved to Garurumon and Joe carefully placed T.K in Matt's arms. Joe hopped onto Garurumon and Matt handed back his brother, Matt got on in front of Joe and after telling Mimi where they were going, they set off for Gennai's house.
Night had fallen in the Digital world. The digidestined had made a camp. Augumon had started a fire and the group huddled around it , trying to get warm.
"This reminds me of the time we were in the cold north and we met Frigimon" Augumon said brightly, trying to bring a conversation into the silence. Tai didn't reply though, he just stared vacantly into the flames.
"You can't blame yourself Tai, you didn't know what was to happen". Sora offered.
Tai just continued to stare at the fire.
"What Matt said back there he didn't mean" She continued.
"We should just give up right now". Tai whispered. "I've had enough!, all this place is doing is driving a wedge between us and I'm tired of it. I don't wanna fight anymore".
"We have to" Sora replied
"Says who"?
"No-one , it's just the right thing to do. They helped us save our home so now we help them save ours".
"We're not together anymore remember?, Joe , Matt and T.K have left, and by the way Matt was acting he doesn't want anything to do with me anymore".
"He's just in shock about what happened, he'll realize it was an accident soon enough. I think what we all need is rest, we'll talk more in the morning".
Tai just nodded. He watched as the others slowly fell asleep. He continued to stare into the flames, hoping that T.K would be Ok.
"I can't believe how irresponsible that idiot is"! Matt slammed his fist against the waiting room wall.
"Matt calm down. Look, we made it didn't we. Isn't that enough"? Joe took Matt by the shoulders.
"Not until I know T.k is alright!, Tai is such a jerk"!
"He didn't plan it"!
"I was right!, I shouldn't have gone there!, I knew it"! Matt yelled.
"What are talking about"?
"Well I didn't come right away because I knew something was going to go wrong, I had this feeling, it was so awful, but then my dad convinced me to go and it seemed like the right thing to do. So I pushed my fears aside, for T.K, for Gabumon, for the team, so team we turned out to be".
"You can't keep blaming Tai".
"I know, it's me, I'm the one to blame" Matt sunk down onto one of the chairs.
"No-one's to blame Matt, so stop looking for someone to blame". Joe sat down next to Matt and put a hand on his shoulder.
A doctor came out of the room that T.K was in.
"T.K"? Matt stood up.
"He'll be Ok, thankfully, it's not that deep, just a gash on the arm, he was lucky. He's lost a lot of blood, you did well getting him here so quickly". The doctor smiled.
"Thankyou doctor" Joe bowed slightly.
"Yeah thanks" Matt muttered. He was thinking about how earlier on , when he had been walking round to T.K's place how he had been saying he hated him. This was far from the truth, as he walked into T.K's hospital room, he thought of how much he wanted to take T.K's place, so he wouldn't have to suffer.
"Hey big brother" T.K called out happily.
"Hey squirt" Matt mumbled back half-heartedly.
"I got stitches!, and a sling look"! T.K showed off his injury.
It should be me there TK not you.
"Yeah great". Matt managed a smile.
Why wasn;t I there for you, why did I have tto hang at the back as always lost in myself.
"I'm looking forward to going back to the Digital world". T.K chatted.
I was too into myself and selfish to think about what you were doing so far ahead.
"You're not still mad at Tai are you? Cos it wasn't his fault, I said I'd be Ok". T.K continued unaware that Matt wasn't listening.
How can I let myself get like that?, I'm so wrapped up in my own life I don't notice others, I didn;'t go to the digital world because I was thinking about myself.
"That Ladysatanmon better watch out when we get there!, she'll have the battle of her life, and lose"! T.K laughed.
Poor Gabumon , I lay my problems on him and I never ask how he is, how he's feeling, I'm too selfish, too selfish.
"Matt are you listening"?
Too selfish.
"MATT"! T.K yelled.
"What sorry"? Matt came to his senses. There I go again, to busy thinking about myself to take notice of my brother.
"I'm just sayin' how I can't wait to get back to the digital world"
"We're not going back T.K, ever" Matt replied firmly.
"Why?, we have to!, I gotta save Patamon with the others"! T.K shouted.
"Calm down, it's not for the best, out there people end up getting hurt and I refuse to let it happen again".
"Please Matt, we have to go back, the others can't win without us".
"No T.K, I've told Joe to go back and tell the others not to expect us back, he's already gone".
"But they can't win!, Izzy said we had to be a full team"
"Sorry T.k"
"I HATE YOU MATT!, I HATE YOU, YOU'RE SO SELFISH, I WISH YOU WERE DEAD"! T.K shouted loudly.
His words rang in the air, I wish you were dead. Matt stood back in shock.
"If that's what you want" He said grimly before running out of the room, he ran so fast, he didn't hear his brother's shouted apoligy.
"What do you mean they're not coming back"? Tai shouted as a breathless Joe ran up to him.
"That's what he said" Joe panted.
"Then we have no chance then Gennai says we have to have a full team, we have to go back to the real world and sort this out". Tai decided.
"But all the time we're spending on this, the more time Ladysatanmon is spending on her portal" Izzy reminded him.
"We have no choice, we need a full team to stand a chance so we have to".
The others nodded, they knew what they had to do, they had to convince Matt they needed him.
Matt slammed the door of his apartment shut. Luckily, his father was out at work. He still couldn't believe that T.K wanted him dead. Maybe he was better off that way, after all, the others didn't like him anymore. He was too selfish to care for others.
It seemed like the best way. Tears raced down his cheeks, Matt started to sob as he sunk down on the kitchen floor.
He stayed that way for a good half an hour, he pulled himself back into a standing position.
I have to end it all now for everyon'e sake, the world will be a better place without Matt Ishida.
Matt rummaged in the kitchen drawer, he found the meat knife. It was large and sharp, prefect for the job.
Matt held his wrists face up, and brought the knife down on them.
Tai ran all the way to Matt's apartment block. He hoped he wasn't too late, he had heard about the argument from T.K. That poor kid thinks he's driven Matt to suicide. Tai prayed that T.K was wrong and that Matt was just mad. Tai hammered on Matt's door.
"Come on Ishida, be there" Tai muttered.
No one came to the door.
"No Matt please" Tai hammered harder, the door had been locked.
He had to get in, he'd seen so many cop dramas he followed how to open a door that way. He kicked the door in after a couple of attempts, and took a quick look back at his handiwork before continuing his search for Matt.
He found his friend, lying in a pool of his own blood on the kitchen floor, the knife at his side.
Ladysatanmon had been completely forgotten in the light of what happened. The Digital world was the last thing on Tai's mind as he sat in the ambulance with his best friend. His best friend who was dying.
Tai looked at Matt's wrists which we roughly dressed to stem the flow of blood. Matt had really laid into them, Tai could remember the ugly gashes when he went to Matt's side on the kitchen floor.
"Don't worry kid, you're friend will be alright" The paramedic tried to comfort Tai.
How could he lie so blantently when it was obvious Matt was far from alright. Tai thought to himself.
The ambulance pulled into the drive of the hospital, and whatever happened next became a blur to Tai, he was pushed and shoved every which way, before being told to wait in the relatives room.
Tai sat down and silently prayed that Matt would pull through.
Meanwhile, away from the Digidestined, Ladysatanmon was planning her arrival in the real world.
"When will the portal be open"? She snapped at a Gazimon.
"Soon mistress, everything is nearly complete". The Gazimon bowed.
"Well hurry up, it won't be long before that old fool Gennai calls those kids". She growled back.
"Yes Mistress" The Gazimon shuffled out nervously.
Sora had been trying to console T.K for an hour now.
Come on Matt pull through, T.K needs you, we all do……..
T.K wailed on as Sora held him.
"Sshh T.K don't worry, Matt will be fine". She had decided not to tell T.K about Matt slashing his wrists, instead she told him that Tai had gone round to talk to Matt and that they would be back soon.
If you die now that that'll be the end.
Sora held back her own tears, she knew it wouldn't do T.K any good if she started crying.
Tai sat in Matt's room, he hadn't even called Matt's mom or dad. The nurse was calling Mr Ishida for him. Tai watched his friend, willing him to wake up.
Mr Ishida rushed into the room , allowing the door to slam loudly as he did so.
Matt jerked.
"Matt"! Tai jumped off his chair.
"Matt!, my God what's gone on here"! Mr Ishida yelled.
"Sir I think you just gave me a good idea"! Tai smiled.
He ran up to the door and opened in, Tai then slammed it with all his might, this caused Matt to move again. Mr Ishida soon got the idea.
"Let me try, I'm stronger" He suggested.
Tai gladly opened the door for Mr Ishida and stood back to watch.
Mr Ishida summoned all his strength. He slammed the door so hard it came off the hinges.
"Another five minutes daddy………." Matt muttered, stirring.
Tai held back a laugh and smirked at what Matt had just said.
"I'm here Matt, come one, it's time to get up" Mr Ishida lent over his son.
Matt opened his eyes.
"Where am I"? He asked.
"At the hospital"
"What happened"?
"I think Tai can answer that one for you"
"You had an argument with T.K and then you slashed your wrists". Tai answered.
"Oh yeah" Matt said a little sheepishly.
"Excuse me what has gone on here"? A doctor came into the room.
"Er sorry that was me, I was a little…….wound up" Mr Ishida apoligised. "I'll pay for the damage"
As the doctor and Mr Ishida talked, Tai turned to Matt.
"Listen, we need you, I think we should put what happened behind us, the fate of the Digital world is once again in our hands" Tai muttered.
"We'll talk later, right now T.K needs me. I need you to cause some kind of distraction"
Tai nodded and started to yell really loudly.
"Ow God look at that"! He shouted.
"What"? The doctor turned around.
"There's something in the hallway, Oh God it's awful"1 Tai continued.
The doctor ran out of the room.
"Thanks man" Matt smiled and, with a small nod of acknowledgement to his father, he ran out of the room, careful to avoid any doctors.
He ran down the hallway and leapt into the lift, he went up to the floor T.k was in and ran into his room.
"T.K"! He yelled.
"Big brother"! T.K shouted back, breaking his hug with Sora.
Matt held T.K gently.
"I'm so sorry T.k, Sorry" Matt held back tears.
"No I'm sorry Matt, I don't want you dead, ever"!
"I know, I know". Matt let his tears flow.
Sora stood back and smiled.
"What have you done to yourself"? T.K asked as he saw the bandages around Matt's wrists.
"That's nothing squirt, just a little accident. No need to worry, so are we gonna beat that eveil Digimon then or what"?
T.K cheered happily. He got out of bed.
"What about the doctors"? Sora asked.
"Piece of cake" Matt grinned. He lifted T.K into his arms and walked out of the door, Sora followed closely behind.
Tai was waiting outside.
"I can't belueve how easy it is to just walk out like that" Sora mused.
"Well we're out now so let's get going". Matt put T.K down.
"Hold it right there son"! Mr Ishida appeared from out of the hospital.
"Yes Dad"? Matt asked, a little nervous.
"Good luck" Mr Ishida smiled at his son.
"Thanks dad" Matt smiled back.
Tai, T.K and Sora also smiled.
"Where are the others"? T.K asked.
"They're still in the Digital world, they're keeping an eye on it for us". Sora replied.
"Well we'd better get back there"! Matt yelled.
Tai was prepared to reply , but before he could, he noticed the sky had turned a threatening black. He could hear thunder and lightning streaked across the sky.
"This is the cliché that tells us something bad is about to happen" Matt joked.
"This is no time for jokes Matt" Tai warned.
"What's going on"? Sora asked, even though she knew, no-one would have the answer.
"Tai did you bring the digimon back with you"? T.K asked.
"Only Gabumon and Augumon, they're at my house". Tai answered, not taking his eyes off the sky.
"I think it would be wise to go and get them" Matt replied.
"Get in the van everyone" Mr Ishida motioned to his, everyone got in.
Meanwhile, the sky in the Digitalworld was doing the exact same thing.
"What's happening"? Joe asked.
"I don't know, it's a strange phenomena , I can't explain it" Izzy replied.
"I think we should go back to Gennai's house, it'll be safe there" Kari suggested,
"Good idea Kari, I say we go with that plan". Tentomon agreed.
"Right then we'd better go and be quick about it" Gatomon started running in the direction of Gennai's house, the others followed.
"I'm no good at running……" Mimi said breathlessly.
"We have no choice , look I'm not bossy like Tai, I'm not reassuring like Sora and I can't make a joke of out things or be sensible like Matt. But I'm reliable, and take it from me, you'll run when you understand what trouble we're bound to be in" Joe shouted.
"Nicely put Joe" Gomamon smiled up at his partner.
"Thanks buddy" Joe smiled back.
"I can't think of what's happening" Augumon stared up at the sky as the group stood outside Tai's apartment block.
By now, news had spread about the strange activity and nearly everyone was stood outside staring at the sky.
"I'll bet it has something to do with Ladysatanmon" Gabumon said darkly.
"You're saying she's finished the portal"? Augumon replied.
"Would you guys mind filling me in"? Matt asked.
"Well, Ladysatanmon has been building a portal to enable her to come to the real world, like Myotismon did, and she must have achieved it, due to the strange goings-on in the sky" Gabumon answered.
"I see, well, what are we gonna do about it"? Matt replied.
"There's not much we can do until she appears" Augumon said.
"Maybe we should get the others from the Digital world". Tai suggested.
"How can we contact them"? T.K asked.
"Matt, Izzy's laptop is in the van, I brought it with me in case you wanted it". Mr Ishida ran to the van and came back with Izzy's laptop.
"Thanks Dad" Matt typed in the password and began typing an e-mail to Gennai.
"Gennai, there;s an e-mail here from Matt" Izzy typed at Gennai's computer.
"Then read it out". Gennai replied.
"It says, Guys, the sky is freaked out here, we need your help, Ladysatanmon has made it through to the real world, or so we think, we need a full team to defeat her, we're outside Tai's apartment block and that's where we'll stay if you want to meet us. I'm on Izzy's laptop so send back an e-mail to say whether you can come". Izzy looked around at the group.
"If she's got through to the real world then why is the sky here freaking out"? Joe asked.
"Because of the connection between the worlds, this portal has upset that balance and it looks like you're all needed so I suggest you go back to the real world and fight from that end. Send an e-mail back to Matt and instruct him to keep the laptop on and then he can open the digiport from that end so you'll all appear right where you want to be". Gennai replied.
"Right I'll do it now" Izzy started to type furiously at the keyboard.
"I need to open the digiport from our end to let the others through" Matt said as he typed away.
"Right then do it" Tai ordered.
"Don't order me about Tai, we're not exactly friends right now, but I'm not fighting about that now, there's more important things to think about". Matt didn't look up from the computer.
"Sorry Matt" Tai looked down at Matt, he wished he could turn back the clock, if it wasn't for their fighting, Ladysatanmon would be gone by now and none of this would be happening.
Matt opened the digiport and there was the now-customary flash of light.
Only Joe appeared.
"Joe, where are the the others"? Matt asked.
"They were right next to me, it must have gone wrong". Joe replied.
"WHERE'S KARI"! Tai yelled, he grabbed Joe.
"Hey hands off him Tai it's not his fault". Matt warned.
"Thanks Matt". Joe readjusted his jumper.
"Anytime. So it looks like what's happening in the sky has some effect on the digiports" Gabumon spoke up.
"Yeah the sky in the digital world is pretty whacked too". Gomamon answered.
"Well we may not be a complete team but when Ladysatanmon arrives we'll give it our best shot". Augumon yelled.
"Dad you'd better get somewhere safe, it's too risky out here". Matt addressed him father.
"No way son, if you're here , then I am".
"Please dad, I've got Gabumon to protect me", Matt pleaded.
"Well ok, if you're sure".
"I am".
"Good luck son, I know you can do it".
"Thanks dad" Matt hugged his father before Mr Ishida walked towards the crowd a short distance away.
Thunder rumbled and a large flash of lightning ilumminated the sky. The digidestined looked up and a large black cloud formed in front of their eyes.
"This can't be good" Matt remarked, he felt T.K grab his leg.
An evil laugh rang out from the cloud. A figure was appearing. Ladysatanmon.
She looked like a larger, more evil version of Angewomon.
"So I guess that's her". Matt said.
"No duh"! Tai replied coldly. Matt gave him a dirty look.
"You fools!, you think you can stop me!, well I;m here to show you different"! Ladysatamon shrieked. The crowd began to scream.
"Guys get ready" Tai motioned to the Digimon.
"Augumon warp digivolve to……………..Wargreymon"!
"Gabumon warp digivolve to……………….Metalgarurumon".
"Patamon digivolve to………..Angemon".
"Gomamon digivolve to ikakumon"!
"Ikakumon digivolve to Zudomon"!
"Biyomon digivolve to Birdramon".
"Birdramon digivolve to Garudamon".
"Ha! Is that the best you can do"! Ladysatanmon yelled. "Chilly lightining"!
A shot of black light came from her hands and it hit Garudamon immediately turning her back into Yokomon.
"Yokomon"! Sora screamed. She ran forward and grabbed her digimon partner.
"Metalgarurumon attack"! Matt yelled.
"Ice wolf claw"! Metal garurmon launched his attack.
The impact had no effect on Ladysatanmon. She laughed again.
"Now I'll show you pathetic kids what I can really do!, Chilly Lightning" !
This time the attack was fired at T.K.
"No T.K"! Matt screamed. Before he culd react Tai had jumped in front of his little brother. The strike hit Tai and he fell to the ground.
"TAI"! Matt yelled, he ran to his friend and knelt down beside him. "Say something"
The crowd screamed as they realised what had happened to Tai.
Matt wiped a few tears out of his eyes before turning to Ladysatanmon.
"You hurt my friend"! He yelled at her.
"That's the point! Foolish Digidestined!, now you will be the next to face my wrath"!
"Flower Cannon"! Lilymon flew towards Ladysatanmon, firing her attack.
"Lilymon?, that means………." Joe began
"Joe, Matt, T.K, Sora ,Tai"! Mimi ran up to her friends.
"How'd you get here, I didn't open the Digiport from this end"? Matt asked, he still held Tai in his arms.
"I don't really know".
"Where are Izzy and Kari"? Joe asked.
"I don't know that either" Mimi shrugged sadly. "What happened to Tai"?
"He got hit by one of Ladysatanmon's attacks" T.K replied sadly.
"We he be alright"? Mimi asked.
"I don't know" Matt looked at his friend.
"Me and Joe'll look after Tai, Matt get back to the Digimon". Sora took Tai out of Matt's arms. Matt turned back to the fight where all the digimon were launching attacks on Ladysatanmon.
"C'mon guys"! Matt yelled. T.K ran up to his little brother.
"Will they do it Matt"?
"Of course they will squirt".
"But Gennai said we all have to be together".
"I know but they're isn't anything we can do, but fight the best we can". Matt smiled down at his brother.
"They're losing, look". T.K pointed to the Digimon, as Ladysatanmon began to turn them back to rookies one by one.
A flash of light appeared behind Matt and Izzy and Kari appeared with Tentomon and Gatomon.
"Hi guys"! Kari said happily.
"Finally after all that, Gennai said the portal had really upset the balance between our worlds. If we don't do something soon then we're all doomed". Izzy said.
Meanwhile Kari had discovered Tai had been hurt, she ran over to Sora.
"Sora what's happened"?
"He got hit by an attack, I'm trying to wake him up". Sora was shaking Tai gently.
"Please wake up Tai" Kari grabbed her brother's hand.
"Izzy did Gennai tell you anything that could help our situation"? Matt asked.
"He said if we all joined together then through the power of each of us we could defeat Ladysatanmon. Looks like we better hurry too, she's started to destroy the city". Izzy motioned to Ladysatanmon , who had left the tired digimon in a heap and was concentrating on tearing down buildings. "She won't stop until she's destroyed our world".
"Joined together?, hmm, I can't think, unless…………….". Matt thought.
"What?, do you think there is a way"? Mimi asked.
"Well remember Myotismon when he came back as Venomyotismon?, we defeated him by standing round him , the light from our crests and digivices helped remember"?
"Yeah , so what Matt's saying is we could try that again" Izzy nodded
"You bet, it's worth a shot" Matt said. "I'll see how Tai is doing".
"Kabuterimon's the only one left who isn't a rookie, I'll get him to hold off Ladysatanmon while we get things sorted". Izzy replied.
Matt nodded and walked towards Tai. Sora and Kari made way for him as he knelt down holding Tai's head in his hands.
"Listen Tai, of you can hear me, you have to wake up. We need you, you're part of the team, our leader. Don't give in , not now, I know we can win. If it's worth anything now, I'm sorry ok?, for all the things said today, I'm sorry, I'm not mad at you anymore, just please wake up, the team needs you, I need you". Matt cried, his crest glowed as he spoke. A blue light from it came over Tai.
"What's happening"? T.K asked.
"It looks like Matt proved his friendship with Tai and the light is healing Tai". Joe spoke up.
"Let's hope so" Kari replied.
The light around Tai faded and Tai opened his eyes, he saw Matt sat over him.
"Matt……"? He muttered.
"Tai, you're alright, thank God". Matt smiled down at his friend.
"I thought you were mad at me"?
"Life's too short buddy". Matt smiled again, this time, Tai smiled along with him.
"C'mon guys, Kabuterimon can't hold her off much longer" Izzy shouted as he watched his brave partner battle with the evil digimon.
"Ok, guys I want you all to get in a circle and hold you digivices out like we did with Venomyotismon ok"? Matt took charge as he watched his friend gather in the circle.
"You're not a bad leader Matt" Tai grinned.
"Right then, close your eyes, and see what happens" Matt replied.
The group closed their eyes together and the crowd of onlookers watched as beams of coloured light shot up from each digivice and joined together just above the Digidestineds heads.
The digidestined opened their eyes and watched in amazement as the flash of light turned white and hit their digimon who were on the ground, weak and tired from the battle.
"What is this"? Ladysatanmon shrieked.
The light grew bigger and in a large flash, it disappeared.
All of the digidestined were shocked at the sight that met their eyes. There , in front of them stood, a very large, strong looking digimon.
"What happened"? Kari asked.
"It looks like all of our digimon joined together…….." Tai began.
"And became one" Matt finished.
"So that's what Gennai meant by us all joining together" Izzy mused.
"Izzy analyse it on the laptop"! Sora asked.
Izzy typed away on his laptop before standing up again.
"My analyser doesn't recognise it". He said simply.
The digimon stepped forward.
"I'm Ultramon and I'm all of your digimon joined together, thanks to your power I came to be". The digimon spoke.
"Wow" T.K looked up. "Patamon are you in there"?
"Later squirt, let Ultramon do his job". Matt replied. He nodded to the large digimon ahead of him.
"ULITMATE FORCE"! Ultramon shouted, firing his attack at Ladysatanmon. She shrieked loudly as the attack made contact with her body.
"Woah, man cool"! Tai remarked.
"Hey I told Gennai what happened and he says that this is the first time more than two digimon have ever joined together to become one"! Izzy said excitedly.
"It's so cool"! Sora watched Ultramon fighting with Ladysatanmon.
"I love the colours, wonderful match"! Mimi exclaimed. "Not one clash"!
"Erm…..guys…..noticed how the whole city is like…….staring at us" Joe said nervously.
"We'll be on the news!, and here's me with only my second best outfit on"! Mimi complained.
"ULITMATE FORCE"! Ultramon fired his final attack, and with an earsplitting scream, Ladysatanmon was gone.
The team cheered happily. Hugging each other and laughing together. Tai stood in front of Matt.
"Listen Matt……I guess……." Tai began.
"No Tai…..don't i……….." Matt started.
"I'm so sorry"! They said in unison, before laughing.
"Friends"? Matt asked holding out his hand.
"Best forever buddy"! Tai hugged his best friend. He was so happy. Once again they had saved their world, and the Digital world and no-one would ever forget this moment in time when everyone was happy.
THE END
Notes : Ok ok, it was a little bit of a cheesy ending. Some of the characters can get OOC at times but it all goes along with the fic. Please review good or bad, but if it's bad, make it constructive please. Working on a new fic, hopefully and Izzy-centric.